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SunnyKids Playground - Jen - My Sunny Corner
Grades
K to 2tag(s): holidays (142), logic (248), parts of speech (67), preK (288), puzzles (203), songs (53), stories and storytelling (32)
In the Classroom
Test the site on your classroom computers to be sure you have the right plug-ins. Create links on classroom computers for students to complete word puzzles, listen to children's music, or create their own silly story. Print each silly story created by students and make a class book for students to enjoy over and over. After creating a story, have older students exchange with a partner, identifying nouns, verbs, and adjectives found in their partner's creation. Share this site with parents through your classroom newsletter or website for students to enjoy at home.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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CPalms - Standards Based Resource Information - Florida Department of Education
Grades
K to 12tag(s): florida (11), professional development (164)
In the Classroom
Bookmark and save this site for use throughout the school year when searching for resources for any topic. Share with other staff members as a teaching resource.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Best Word Book Ever - kokogiak on Flickr
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Do you still have a favorite picture book from your childhood? Consider going to the library to find a more current version and compare the differences. Have your students ask their parents if they still have a copy of their favorite picture book, and they can pick up a copy of the current edition to compare. With older students, you can use the Best Word Book Ever comparison to see the changes in what is politically incorrect now that was in the earlier version. Students then discuss what society valued at the time of the older edition compared to what our current society values. There are not just the gender role differences (policeman vs the woman police officer). Look at the wording in the older version for behavioral expectations, too. Literature teachers could carry this one step further and make a comparison of the expectations of society at the time of a classic (Tom Sawyer, Pride and Prejudice ) and what society valued during that time. Students could make one of these comparisons using a program like Bookemon reviewed here, which creates interactive online books. They could take that project one step further with UtellStory, reviewed here, and add narrated commentary. Make sure your students adhere to Copyright laws if creating online. You may want to work offline using PowerPoint so student products can include copyrighted images under "Fair Use."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Quietube - STML
Grades
K to 12tag(s): classroom management (159), safety (92), video (278)
In the Classroom
Share "distraction-free" videos on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Share the URL for the clearer video on your class website or in assignments. Removing the comments and advertisements can make for a much better viewing experience. This is especially true of your ADD, autistic, unfocused gifted, or other special needs students. Less distraction = better learning experience for all.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Reframe it - Reframe it
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): browser (5), writing prompts (93)
In the Classroom
Use to comment and annotate on pictures and information anywhere on the web. This is a great tool for you (or your students) to annotate research and information on the Internet. Create teacher annotations or question and answer comments on pages. Ask comprehension questions or guiding questions for places you send students on the web. Ask questions that students can complete as homework to show that they accessed the web resource assigned. If students have access to the add-on with individual log-ins, they can converse and debate about web page content. This tool wold also be a powerful way for students to point out bias on a web page or for art students to comment on images and design elements. Create writing prompts by adding questions or comments to a web page and sharing it with students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Stripgenerator - Stripgenerator
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): comics and cartoons (65), emotions (36)
In the Classroom
Because of the public content, be SURE to tell students to go directly to the creation tools (and not to explore the public strips). If you cannot monitor/trust individuals, use a whole class account and have one group at a time work where you can monitor. Instead of writing boring summaries, why not assign a rotating scribe to summarize class through a comic strip. Make a class wiki collection of the comics created throughout the year. Use comics to show sequencing of events. When studying about characterization, create dialog to show (not tell) about a character. Another idea - why not use the comic strips for conflict resolution or other guidance issues (such as bullying). Emotional support and autistic support teachers can work with students to create strips about appropriate interpersonal responses and/or feelings. Sometimes it is easier for students to write it down (or create pictures) than use the actual words. World language and ESL/ELL teachers can assign students to create dialog strips as an alternate to traditional written assessments.Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
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Dr. Kate Kinsella's Learning Activities - Dr. Kate Kinsella and the California Department of Education
Grades
6 to 9tag(s): literacy (106), questioning (36), vocabulary development (124)
In the Classroom
Use this information during professional development sessions to develop techniques and ideas for teaching English language learners. Share with ESL/ELL teachers as a resource. Although geared toward English language learners, there are many tools on the site that can be used in any classroom such as the Lesson Observation and Reflection Tool found in the Take Action Section of the first learning activity. There are many other professional resources at this site.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Teach Your Monster to Read - Usborne Foundation
Grades
K to 2In the Classroom
Share this site with parents for fun at-home reading practice. Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Create an account for each student. Use this site as a reading center on classroom computers. Don't forget headsets!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Josie's Poems - Josie Whitehead
Grades
1 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): poetry (219)
In the Classroom
Use poems in this collection as the core of a poetry unit or simply to honor National Poetry Month. Mark it in your favorites to use from year to year. Project these easy-view poems on an interactive whiteboard to mark rhyme scheme, etc. Most poems are short with a simple cadence making them perfect to use as inspiration for students to create their own poetry. Have your students create an online "scrapbook" of poems using Scrapblog (reviewed here). View all of TeachersFirst's Editor's Choices for Poetry Monthhere for further ideas for using poetry in the classroom.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Teacher Invaders Game Generator - Andrew Field
Grades
1 to 8tag(s): vocabulary (321), vocabulary development (124)
In the Classroom
Create games for any subject for review before testing or practice throughout the year. Share your educational games on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Assign games for homework or use on classroom computers as centers. If possible, allow cooperative learning groups to create their own educational review games to share with the class. Learning support or ELL teachers could work together with small groups to create games, reinforcing learning both in making and playing the games.Edge Features:
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
Requires download/installation of software
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Inanimate Alice - BradField Company Limited
Grades
4 to 12The episodes of this graphic novel are available in your browser for free if you have Flash. To read the episodes, go to the menu (3 bars in the upper right corner) and slide to Adventures.Visit the Create link to view content created by students as they adopt Alice as a friend in this intriguing and interactive story. If your students choose to "create," you may use the tool suggested or use your own. The American Association of School Librarians recognized Inanimate Alice as a 2012 Best Website for Teaching and Learning.
tag(s): digital storytelling (155), interactive stories (30), reading comprehension (124)
In the Classroom
From the makers of Inanimate Alice: "... the level of interactivity starts out low in episode one, increasing with each subsequent episode in order to reflect Alice's own growing abilities, we've found that we can take an audience unfamiliar with multimedia fiction with us. Educators like Inanimate Alice because of this; students from primary to post-graduate level find the work engaging."You can use this site with younger children on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Older students will enjoy exploring the story on their own using headphones or earbuds. Have older students work in small groups, creating an episode of their own with Alice. Encougage students to use one of these recommended free multimedia tools Sway, reviewed here, Zeetings, reviewed here, or Moovly, reviewed here. Be prepared for lots of "on task" chatter from your students about this delightful site.
Comments
This seems like a really fun site and ones kids would like. Of all of the email suggestions this week, Inanimate Alice has the most potential. The thing is, to get best effect, we must purchase.Patricia, NJ, Grades: 6 - 12
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Pandora - Pandora Media, Inc.
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): lyrics (21), music theory (44), poetry (219)
In the Classroom
In music classes, use Pandora to open discussion about elements and styles of music. Play a channel long enough for students to hear a few selections, then ask them to figure out what the different songs have in common, perhaps besides an artist. Why does the work of another artist show in the same "channel"? While studying lyrics as poetry in an English/Language Arts class, compare lyrics of songs from the same channel. How are they similar? What other song lyrics might you add to this channel?Use a Pandora channel as background during a discussion of certain decades of the 20th century or have students find/create channels that represent an era such as the Civil War period. Have them explain their "mix" and why it is representative. Play a Pandora channel as a writing prompt or during art activities to promote creative expression. During a unit on how to study, be sure to offer Pandora as a customizable way for students to create an auditory "study environment." World language teachers can find artists whose lyrics use the language they are teaching to build listening skills. Elementary teachers and ESL/ELL teachers can use channels with children's songs for vocabulary or other class activities.
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inklewriter - Joseph Humfrey and Jon Ingold
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): creative writing (165), digital storytelling (155), narrative (20), persuasive writing (57)
In the Classroom
View stories on the site together to understand the components of the site and discuss how different choices in characters and settings lead to different story outcomes. (Be sure to preview stories before sharing, since there is "public"' content.) Watch the tutorials together on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) before students begin to write stories. Use a graphic organizer to "map out" the story before writing. Create a short story together as a class to become familiar using the site. Assign a group of students to create an interactive story each week to share on your classroom website or blog. Have students create a story map before beginning a story on inklewriter; use a tool such as 25 Language Arts Graphic Organizers, reviewed here. Create class stories to teach about literature, geography, reading comprehension, history, science concepts, and more. As a more "serious" approach, use Inklewriter to present opinion pieces where you take a position and allow readers to click on questions about it. They could also click on statements expressing opposing views so you can write counterarguments to their points. This could end up being a powerful way to present an argument and evidence as required by Common Core writing standards. A graphic organizer for planning and organizing evidence is a must! Teachers of gifted could use this for students to develop elaborate fictional or informational pieces. If you work with students who struggle, scaffold with a template for them to organize their thoughts.Edge Features:
Includes an education-only area for teachers and students
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Products can be shared by URL
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TweetChat - tweetchat.com
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): chat (51), microblogging (41), twitter (45)
In the Classroom
If your school permits student Twitter accounts, use TweetChat on laptops during a video or student presentations. Pose questions for all to answer/discuss using an assigned hashtag. Ask students to pose their own "I wonder if..." questions as they watch and listen. Keep every student engaged and THINKING as an active listener. The first time you use TweetChat, you will want to establish some etiquette and accountability rules, such as respectful language and constructive criticism. Assign students to watch a news program or political show and have a chat during the broadcast. Revisit the chat on a projector in class the next day or post the chat transcript to a class blog or wiki and have students respond further in blog posts or on the wiki discussion tab. The advantage of backchannel chat is that every student has a voice, no matter how shy.Use Tweetchat to collaborate with other classrooms or teachers at a distance. Use a whole class Twitter account to contribute to a regular chat. Professionally, teachers can join subject or grade level specific Tweetchats that happen in real time. See the Twitter Chat Schedule, reviewed here or Educational hashtags listings here to find real time groups you can join using Tweetchat.
Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Requires registration/log in (NO email)
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
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Pen.io - Anthony Feint
Grades
K to 12tag(s): blogs (85), editing (72), process writing (48), proofreading (25), writing (365)
In the Classroom
Publish student writing projects such as short stories, poems, and reports. Publish study guides before tests. Publish directions for assignments. With the options for password protected editors, students could post a collaborative report and have others help edit the work. This is an easy way to set up a student blog, especially if the focus is on writing rather than multimedia. Have students write a progressive story where they each add a portion. Practice vocabulary in English or world languages by having students add sentences throughout the year, continuously using the newest words. Just make sure that students use the same password for all the stories started in a class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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SpeakPipe - Speakpipe.com
Grades
K to 12tag(s): blogs (85), communication (10)
In the Classroom
When installed on a school website, SpeakPipe provides a good way for parents to leave voicemail messages. Unless one of you shares the url, the communication remains confidential. Download messages to your computer as a simple way for students to record their voice responses for use in a multimedia project on your classroom blog. After posting student work on your classroom website or blog, allow students to record information responding or explaining each project. Encourage emerging readers to record their own voices reading a blog post they write. Auditory learners will truly benefit from this tool. Install this on your class blog or wiki so parents who visit can leave audio comments for the class. World language teachers could post an image on a class web site and ask students to record a response in their new language. SChool library/media centers can invite students so comment about new books listed on the web page.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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SimpleMeet.Me - Irian Solutions
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): chat (51), social networking (112)
In the Classroom
Use this site to connect to other classes to open up conferencing between your students in one convenient place. Safety is not a concern with this site, since only those with your unique code can participate in a chat. Chat sessions are not saved. (You can copy/paste the content into a document before closing to save an offline copy.) Use this site for a means to connect to any classroom you choose for any subject area. Connect to learn about other locations, learn various perspectives, find animals that are similar yet different, learn about the different books others are reading, survey students on various economic, political, or environmental topics. Be sure to plan content ahead of time, so students have the opportunity to think through the material and formulate a response. Discuss appropriate ways to communicate to others prior to connecting with another classroom. Use SimpleMeet.me as a place for students to brainstorm and share ideas about a topic. Use as a simple help forum for students to ask questions of each other and of you. Share your unique code with parents once a month for a question and answer session at a scheduled time.Use backchannel chat on laptops during a video or student presentations. Pose questions for all to answer/discuss in the backchannel, or ask students to pose their own "I wonder if..." questions as they watch and listen. Keep every student engaged and THINKING as an active listener. The first time you use backchannel, you will want to establish some etiquette and accountability rules. The advantage of backchannel chat is that every student has a voice, no matter how shy. In world language classes or even autistic support class, have students using new language vocabulary in backchannel descriptions of what they see while classmates act out a scene from a video, or describing the feelings of the actors. In studying literature, collaborate with another class to have students role-play a chat between two characters or in history class for conversations between soldiers on two sides of the Civil War or different sides of the Scopes Monkey trial.
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Snapguide - Heavy Bits
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): computers (102), crafts (39), directions (19), fitness (50), makerspace (11), photography (157), sequencing (29), speeches (19)
In the Classroom
Share the ready-made snapguides in various classes: family and consumer science, music, art, photography, science, computer, and more! Create your own snapguides to share with your class on any subject matter. ESL/ELL and other special needs students will learn better seeing the photos along with the instructions. Use Snapguide to explain a lesson or a project that has multiple directions. Use Snapguide for directions for parents. Create a snapguide for your students when leaving plans for a substitute teacher. Students can also create their own snapguides to use as presentations and even for sequencing practice. These re the perfect prompts for writing and giving informative, how-to speeches. Students can explore the guides available and follow directions or even evaluate their effectiveness. Have cooperative learning groups create their own snapguides to share a new topic with the class. Encourage students to use Snapguide to illustrate their math solutions, discuss the completion and science behind a lab experiment, or show cause and effect.Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Requires download/installation of software
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Talk Typer - 2012 TalkTyper
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): text to speech (18)
In the Classroom
Talk Typer is a very versatile tool, for students, parents, and teachers alike. Bypass poor typing skills, dysgraphia, dyslexia, and physical disabilities. Use this tool in emails, documents, or anything requiring typed text. Use in your writing class so students can either write or edit their work. Use when you are in a hurry with emails requiring long text. Use for your newsletters or family emails. Share this on your class website and at Back to School Night. Emerging literacy students will enjoy the success they have with their oral language into written word. Improve content and forget about mechanics of writing or typing. Focus in on grammar and mechanics after seeing the recognized mistakes. Include this website on every tool bar and as a favorite on your class web page. ELL students can speak English, play it back, and correct it until it "sounds right" and expresses their ideas correctly.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Vozme - Festival Speech Synthesis System Centre for Speech Technology
Grades
K to 12tag(s): text to speech (18)
In the Classroom
Create a verbal classroom using speech in your email messages, blog, browser searches, and even class discussions, read alouds, and simple explanations. Lower elementary classes, ESL/ELL, or learning support classes can enjoy greater independence with both verbal and written text. Let students try making a blog post with synthesized speech. ELL students can hear written language to build listening skills and relate written English to the spoken sounds. Send an email with an anticipatory activity for a content lesson by polling, asking a question, or offering food for thought. At the end of the unit, have students create a review for content area subjects. Use in your writing class for students to listen to their own work read aloud. This allows for easier self-revisions. Share all written work on your class blog, allowing everyone to share (with parental permission, of course). Enjoy giving students writing prompts or homework assignments spoken aloud, playable as many times as each individual needs. Send a quick email to a sick or absent student, adding a more personal touch with them hearing your message. Use to read poetry or to illustrate inflection and emotion in your speech. Enjoy all the talking and listening you and your class will do!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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